Jill Layfield, chief executive officer of Backcountry.com, explains their approaches to competition and employee relations during an interview with the Deseret News.

Joey Ferguson, Deseret News

Summary

It took a snow shovel for Jill Layfield to further know that she was at the right company. After traveling to London with her husband, she came home to a snow-packed Park City with a driveway cleared from a recent storm. The deed was courtesy of her manager, Dustin Robertson and a team from the office.

“People that are competitive and want to win will win. You don't have to tell them to be in the building from nine to six.”

Jill Layfield

It took a snow shovel for Jill Layfield to further know that she was at the right company. After traveling to London with her husband, she came home to a snow-packed Park City with a driveway cleared from a recent storm. The deed was courtesy of her manager, Dustin Robertson and a team from the office.

"That impression on me was massive," Layfield said in an interview with the Deseret News. "My boss thought about me and what I would come home to. That meant more to me than being paid $5,000 more a year because it felt like he cared and knew me as a person."

That hands-on nature permeates Backcountry.com, the online retailer that specializes in outdoor clothing and equipment and where Layfield is now chief executive officer. Robertson's kindness had a profound impact on how she treats employees, which affects how she leads, Layfield said. After all, Backcountry.com sells adventure or at least the gear to make it happen.

Forget the financial benefits. Backcountry has those. Rather, Layfield believes in emphasizing an emotional connection with individual employees and learning what motivates them while meeting basic benefits.

Just check out their call center employees. About 14 percent of them suffered serious injuries relating to outdoor sports last year.

"You cannot buy great employees," Layfield said. "I don't think you can 401k or compensate your way to excellence. The more emotional benefits and general recognition is where you find the best employees."

Companies should spend more time knowing their employees and what motivates them on an emotional level, said Layfield. The company still provides basic benefits, like a 401k and insurance, but it isn't the focus when helping out employees.

Back in 1996 Jim Holland and John Bresee founded BackcountryStore.com with $2,000 of their own money. The company eventually became Backcountry.com in 2004 and placed its product fulfillment center in Salt Lake in 2002.

Then in 2011 they turned the reign over to Layfield.

"It was breathtaking," Bresee said about working with Layfield. "You can just say go climb that mountain and she would just call 15 minutes later from the top and she would have built a perfect path to it."

As a company Backcountry aims to offer high-end outdoor equipment. The company maintains a series of full retail, closeout and one-deal-at-a-time websites, including Chainlove.com and SteepandCheap.com. They have another fulfillment center in Virginia and an international office in Costa Rica.

The company, which is owned by Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty Media, employs about 1,000 people.

The outdoor, bike and action sports sectors are the focus. The outdoor industry is the fastest followed by bike and action sports, she said.

Backcountry sold 5 million products in 2011, a 138 percent increase from 2007.

In the office employees enjoy breaks during the day for skiing, commuter vans to their offices in Park City and a discount on merchandise, which they refer to as their "bro code."

The discount is good that the company probably loses money on it, but it's worth it because they want their employees to be immersed in the products they sell, Layfield said.

These benefits are a broad way of trying to reach individual employees on an emotional level, Layfield said. One-on-one manager recognition is another important aspect of leading a good workforce.

Layfield says a work environment that has a flexible work schedules is also vital to finding a competitive team.

"People that are competitive and want to win will win," Layfield said. "You don't have to tell them to be in the building from nine to six. If you hire the right people, they will get the job done."

Popular Comments

No offense, but while it is neat to shovel an employees driveways, it's
even neater to pay market salaries. I have shopped Backcountry, and because I
enjoy the outdoors so much, looked into employment there because of the attitude
and culture.
More..

Jordan Burke is the director of content strategy and operations for DeseretNews.com. Previously he oversaw the company's business content and worked as a product manager to develop a highly relevant online business more ..

Joey Ferguson is a business reporter for the Deseret News who focuses on public finance. He joined Deseret News after graduating from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a bachelor's degree in journalism in May 2011. He more ..